Will GreenwaldToshiba BDX2700 Blu-ray PlayerIntegrated Wi-Fi, access to Netflix and other streaming services, and laudable DVD upconversion make the Toshiba BDX2700 Blu-ray Disc player a very tempting product, but be prepared for very long waits when loading discs.

Integrated Wi-Fi, access to Netflix and other streaming services, and laudable DVD upconversion make the Toshiba BDX2700 Blu-ray Disc player a very tempting product, but be prepared for very long waits when loading discs.

Next to 3D, integrated Wi-Fi is one of the biggest features to pop up in Blu-ray players. When so many players support streaming media from the Internet, needing to run a cable to your router can be a deciding factor for some. The Toshiba BDX2700 Blu-ray Disc player ($229 list) distinguishes itself with Wi-Fi network support, a handful of streaming media services, and 7.1-channel analog audio outputs. It doesn't have the most features of the Blu-ray disc-playing setthe Google TV-powered Sony Internet TV Blu-ray Disc Player ($399.99, 4 stars) currently holds that title, but it still manages to offer a lot for the price.

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Design and Features
The BDX2700 is flat, black, and minimalist. Its 2.5-by-16.9-by-8.3-inch (HWD) frame weighs just over 3.8 pounds, and is short and narrow enough to fit on nearly any home theater shelf, slightly taller but otherwise nearly as compact as the Sony BDP-S570 ($199, 4 stars). The nearly featureless front panel holds just four buttons: Power/Standby, Play, Stop, and Eject. An SD card slot is located on the lower right-hand corner of the player, for loading media or enabling BD-Live features. The remote control measures 8.3 inches long, and features the standard fare of playback, navigation, and number pad buttons. The remote is only useful with the BDX2700, and has no universal features.

A wide range of connectivity options make the BDX2700 very flexible, and capable in a variety of home theater systems. Besides HDMI, the player has component, composite, and S-video outputs for video. Sound can be piped out digitally through either HDMI or the optical audio port, or at 7.1-channel analog through its 8 discrete channel RCA ports.

Like many midrange Blu-ray players, the BDX2700 includes several Web-based services. It can stream both music and movies to your HDTV via Netflix, VUDU, Blockbuster on Demand, and Pandora. It also supports DLNA, so you can access media stored on your computer through the player. And integrated Wi-Fi means you can wirelessly connect the player to your home network without a cable (though it does have an Ethernet port as well).

Surprisingly, this well-equipped player doesn't have any onboard memory. If you want to access certain features, like BD-Live extras on some Blu-ray discs, you'll need to provide your own flash memory, either in the form of a USB drive plugged into the back or an SD card slotted into the front of the BDX2700.

Performance
The BDX2700 is incredibly slow, both in disc-reading time and overall responsiveness. In my tests, the menus lagged, and simple tasks like opening and closing the disc drive and stopping and starting playback occasionally took a few seconds between pressing the button on the remote and seeing the player actually do something.

After plugging it in initially, the player's front panel screen seemed to take forever to blink on for the first time, only doing so after pressing the Power button multiple times. After the first boot, it switched on and off quite rapidly: the player sprung to life in an average of 2.5 seconds.

Actually playing a Blu-ray Disc will leave you checking your watch a few times. Newer, BD-Live-equipped discs took an average of 52.6 seconds from insertion to the first screen loading. Older, non-BD-Live discs took an average of 20.8 seconds to load. Considering even average players tend to take approximately 16 and 32 seconds to respectively load older discs and BD-Live-equipped discs, the BDX2700 is unforgivably sluggish, a flaw compounded by the player's slow interface. Compared with the quick Sony S570, and the slightly pricier but much more robust Samsung BD-C6500's ($249, 4 stars) 10-second loading times for non-BD-Live discs, the BDX2700 fails to justify its price. The Samsung player also features 1GB of internal memory and a broader selection of Web streaming options.

The player passed our HD HQV video tests with flying colors, and we were pleasantly surprised by its upconversion abilities. The Big Lebowski 10th Anniversary DVD looked incredibly detailed on the player, upconverted to and output at 1080p. It didn't reach Blu-ray Disc levels of detail, but it looked much more crisp and smooth than on a standard DVD player. Predictably, the BDX2700 played Blu-ray Discs capably, displaying It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Season 5 and The Sound of Music: 55th Anniversary Edition with the full 1080p video detail and rich sound the format holds.

Our lab's Wi-Fi popped up right away on the BDX2700, and we connected and synced a Netflix account to the player in just a few minutes. While Amazon On Demand or some other Internet content services would have been a nice addition to the BDX2700, the suite of Netflix, VUDU, Pandora, and Blockbuster On Demand offer a solid selection of TV, movies, and music.

The Toshiba BDX2700 Blu-ray Disc player sports a great feature set and excellent DVD upconverting, but its painfully sluggish interface and long disc loading times hold it back from being a very good option. It works well enough, but at $229 we expected something much quicker. If you want a premium, feature-packed player, go with the Samsung BD-C6500 instead. You'll pay an extra $20, but it's faster, has more services, and you won't need to buy a USB key or SD card to unlock BD-Live features.

Toshiba BDX2700 Blu-ray Player

Bottom Line: Integrated Wi-Fi, access to Netflix and other streaming services, and laudable DVD upconversion make the Toshiba BDX2700 Blu-ray Disc player a very tempting product, but be prepared for very long waits when loading discs.

Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for a decade, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. His work and analysis has been seen in GamePro, Tested.com, Geek.com, and several other publications. He currently covers consumer electronics in the PC Labs as the in-house home entertainment expert, reviewing TVs, media hubs, speakers, headphones, and gaming accessories. Will is also an ISF Level II-certified TV calibrator, which ensures the thoroughness and accuracy of all PCMag TV reviews....
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